Joyce pushes for state to control deer in Blue Hills

Thursday

Jul 17, 2014 at 2:49 PMJul 17, 2014 at 2:49 PM

The Environmental Bond Bill recently passed by the state Senate contains a provision authored by Sen. Brian A. Joyce, D-Milton, to address the overcrowding of deer in the Blue Hills.The legislation directs the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to develop and implement a plan to control deer populations in areas where they exceed 50 per square mile.A recent report requested by Joyce put the deer population of the Blue Hills at roughly 85 per square mile; wildlife officials consider six to eight deer per square mile to be a healthy population.The rise in the deer population has created a significant increase in deer ticks, which carry potentially fatal communicable diseases like Lyme disease and babesiosis, Joyce said."The amount of deer in the Blue Hills now poses a serious health risk," Joyce said. "We’ve seen a rapid increase in ticks and the ecosystem is being damaged by the amount of grazing that’s occurring. The Reservation simply cannot support the amount of deer present."DCR would develop and implement the plan by Oct. 1. A similar culling program was developed and implemented by DCR for the Quabbin Reservoir that resulted in a vegetation rebound and water quality improvements following a controlled hunt, Joyce said.